Emerging Directions for Addressing Health Disparities in Alzheimer's Disease (R03) | PAR 15 350

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 15 350

The Emerging Directions for Addressing Health Disparities in Alzheimer's Disease (R03) funding opportunity (NIH, PAR-15-350) supports small, focused research projects that aim to better understand and reduce health disparities in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders. The central idea is to fund early-stage or pilot-style studies that can clarify why certain populations experience different risks, outcomes, or care experiences with dementia, and to generate evidence that can lead to better, more equitable prevention, diagnosis, caregiving support, and services. Consistent with how NIH frames health disparities research, proposed projects are expected to examine how multiple influences, including biological, behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental factors, contribute to population-level differences in health and healthcare related to AD.

The FOA highlights several priority research directions. One major focus is improving the recruitment and retention of populations that have been historically underrepresented in Alzheimer's research, which can include efforts to identify barriers to participation, test culturally responsive outreach strategies, build trust through community partnerships, and develop study procedures that reduce practical burdens such as transportation, time off work, language access, or caregiving responsibilities. Another priority area is identifying key factors and pathways that create and sustain AD-related health disparities. This can involve mapping mechanisms across the life course and across levels of influence (for example, individual risk factors, neighborhood context, structural barriers, health system features, and differential exposure to stressors), with the goal of pinpointing modifiable drivers of unequal risk or outcomes. The FOA also emphasizes research on the challenges faced by informal and family caregivers from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, reflecting the reality that caregiving responsibilities are often unevenly distributed and that caregiver burden can be shaped by financial strain, limited support networks, cultural expectations, and variable access to information and services. A fourth area of interest is understanding disparities in access to and use of formal long-term supports and services for people living with dementia, such as home- and community-based services, respite care, adult day programs, nursing home care, or other supportive resources. Projects in this area might examine who is able to obtain services, what obstacles prevent use, how service quality varies, and how policy or system-level factors affect utilization.

This opportunity uses the NIH R03 mechanism, which is generally designed for smaller, shorter projects that can answer targeted questions or generate preliminary data for larger studies later. The listed award ceiling is $50,000, and the opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant in the health area under CFDA 93.866. The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health. The original closing date provided for this opportunity was 2019-01-07, and the FOA record notes a creation date of 2015-09-17.

Eligible applicants are broad and include many types of U.S.-based organizations and governments. Examples include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

There are also clear restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In practical terms, the applicant organization and the project activities need to remain domestic under NIH rules for this specific FOA.

Overall, this grant opportunity is aimed at pushing the field toward a more complete and actionable understanding of Alzheimer's-related health disparities, with an emphasis on research that can illuminate real-world mechanisms and barriers, strengthen inclusion of underrepresented groups in AD research, support diverse caregivers, and explain inequities in access to long-term services and supports.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Emerging Directions for Addressing Health Disparities in Alzheimer's Disease (R03)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-09-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-01-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $50,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 15 350

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